Raw Vegan Macadamia Mac and Cheese

As I have been exploring and adjusting to my new environment here in Hawaii one thing is apparent... prepackaged foods are expensive! Luckily locally grown fruits and vegetables are not. My morning smoothie routine is back on track thanks to a $45 Ninja blender I picked up at Target. I have been eating a lot of salads for lunch, but dinner has been hard for me. I don't have a family to cook for and I don't have much of a kitchen set-up yet to cook in. So I have been falling off the raw path and eating some cooked vegan food, which isn't the end of the world, but I don't feel healthy. I feel bloated and heavy from eating that way. Fruit, smoothies, raw soups, and salads can hold me till 4:00 pm, but then I start getting hungry for something more.

I came up with this recipe as a compromise. The raw kelp noodles were reasonably affordable and the macadamia nuts, being local, were a fair price as well. The sauce is delicious and could easily go on zucchini noodles, or even cooked quinoa pasta, if you prefer.

Hopefully nest week I will have my own kitchen again and get back on track with creating more delicious raw recipes for your enjoyment!

1 package kelp noodles
3/4 cup macadamia nuts
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
dash of paprika
dash of cayenne pepper
Sea salt to taste

Rinse kelp noodles and drain. Massage noodles gently and cover in water to soak while the sauce is prepared. Combine all other ingredients in a small food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Add additional water only if necessary. Drain the kelp noodles, cover in sauce mixture, and stir to evenly cover. Enjoy!

Where Have I Been?

I haven't written a blog in a few weeks now, but I promise you I have a good excuse! I quit my job, left Maryland, and started a job in Kailua Kona, Hawaii out here on the Big Island! It has been a bit of a risk, and definitely a struggle, but I feel like eventually it will be worth it.

I left my husband and son back in Maryland so that they could sell almost all of our possessions (it is funny how little objects actually matter) and our house. For the past two weeks I have been living out of a small ohana house, which is basically a converted 1 car garage that has a very tiny kitchen, shower, and toilet.

Although I am in paradise, it hasn't quite felt like it yet. I have missed my husband and son terribly. I have had the stress of learning a new job. I have been living out of a suitcase and having very little luck finding  place to rent. So with all that stress mounting, raw foods have gone out the window. And now I have had to suffer the consequences of diarrhea and vomiting.

I am not saying all cooked food would hit me this way, and possible it was even the hotel ferments I have been toting around in a new climate that actually too their toll, but either way I think I need to get back on the straight and narrow.

Luckily Hawaii is the land of year round farmers' markets and fruit. I look forward to writing more of my journey on here, and am sure I will have a ton of new ingredients to share. Once I get settled (cross your fingers I am not living in a hotel forever) I will write my first Big Island recipe! Mahalo and aloha!